Friday, June 22, 2012

Much Ado About Poo: The Supply

One of the biggest questions about cloth diapering (aside from what to do with the poo) is about supply. From what I've found on google, through mom friends, and the world of fellow bloggers, is the number is anywhere from 12-36. 12 may be cutting it a little close for some, and 36 is a generous supply. I'm guessing the golden number is probably 18-24.

As mentioned in my previous post about our plan to cloth diaper, we're using two different brands for two different purposes. gDiapers by day, BumGenius by night. This combination wasn't recommended to me, it's just an idea I cooked up based on reviews, recommendations, and preference. I know a lot of parents use a combination of brands, and others are completely dedicated to just one. I should add - I'm no expert (yet) and this process will require a little trial and error.

So, here's our supply:

1.gDiapers

gDiapers have 3 parts: outer pant "gPant", liner, and insert. Ideally, at any given changing you're only swapping out the insert. The insert is either cloth or disposable.

Unfortunately, "ideally" isn't always reality. Some days you may only need one outer pant, others you may go through 2 or 3 if things are particularly poopy/leaky/icky. But, the point is, for gDiapers the supply of outer pants is of less importance than your supply of inserts. At present, we have 12 cloth inserts. I imagine I'll buy 2 more packs, bringing our total to 24. Then, we'll keep a stock of disposable inserts on hand for days we're out and about. The disposables are sold like traditional diapers.

Cost: gPants cost approximately $18 each. At present we own 12. That totals $216. The gPants photographed above cost $70 TOTAL. How did I stock up at nearly 1/3 of the price? A little bit of good luck and good timing. A friend passed along some gPants, and a member of a mommy group changed her mind on cloth and sold hers for a great price. We will need to purchase additional cloth inserts, which will be about $50.

2. BumGenius

BumGenius diapers are considered "all-in-one" diapers. They are one size, made to grow with your child. They come in two parts: diaper and cloth insert. (I'm sensing the makings of a "how to" post coming on, so I'll document that next!)

I wasn't sure about using two brands of cloth diapers at first, but when Cotton Babies had their annual cloth diaper sale (buy 5 get 1 free) I went for it. Plus, with the reputation of being amazingly absorbent I couldn't help but think they would be perfect for overnights. (You know, because my kid will obviously be sleeping through the night).

Here's our supply of BumGenius Diapers:

Total: 6. I don't plan on buying/needing more. Estimating we may need 2 per night, we'll still have a good 3-day rotation. Seems like plenty to me!

Cost: A 6-pack is sold for $110.95. With the sale, I paid a total of $86.

And because they're so cute, here's a glimpse at our colorful supply of diapers!

And if you've been keeping track, we've invested $156 so far. Typical cost of 1 year of diapering? $500-$800. And you know, kids are usually diapered for 2.5-3 years.

I'm so impressed by anyone that cloth diapers! Just the thought of cloth diapering and all that extra laundry scared me away. Great supply and great method! Plus, I love all the fun colors! I can't wait to hear more about how this all works out for you guys.

Ahh, jealous of all of your beautiful colors of BumGenius! The downside of my buying used is that I didn't get a choice on color. If you end up having a boy, I'll make you a deal on the bright pink BG! :)

I think the number of BumGenius you have will be plenty for nights...especially since it's rare that we would even change Sadie's diaper at night. She's swaddled and sleepy so there's no need to change it...the diaper stays pretty dry! Excited to hear how you like the G's once you start using them.

We've used gDiapers exclusively -- ok, at night we do a sposie for leak protection -- through both kiddos and I've written about them a few times, including our successful composting operation, here: http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/search/label/gMum

I was wondering the same sort of thing as Anonymous... I wonder how daycares take to this? My SIL's day care is in-home and the lady is fine with it, so she's lucky. I wonder if this will catch on with daycares, or if it's considered extra work for them? And I love the colors!! SO CUTE and so much more fun looking than disposables!

I have a question regarding cost. My husband and I have also thought about cloth diapering becuase it's eco-friendly and supposedly cost effective in the long run. But what about all the extra laundry you will be doing? Has anyone added that up? I imagine that cloth diapering requires much more laundry which costs energy, bills go up. Any thoughts?

@Anonymous @kjpugs: Day care is definitely it's own issue. Many day cares require disposable diapers for their ease, which is understandable. In-home daycare providers are sometimes more flexible about diapers. Fortunately for us, I will work reduced hours and Mr. Fix-It will balance his time to accomodate my client schedule. We're thinking we'll use a nanny one day per week.

@Sallie : Yes, laundry cost is a factor. I've seen several posts about the breakdown of laundry/energy bills vs disposables and it seems like the energy costs still are less. Very fortunately for us, we don't pay a water bill in Chicago!

Will you be giving an update on how you like the gDiapers and the BG? I know I want to cloth diaper when we have kids, but I'm still on the fence about which ones to get. I know BG are generally the most used and loved, but I am really interested in the gDiapers if they work like they are supposed to. Some reviews have stated that the inserts don't really contain the mess and so they need to change the covers a lot more often than they originally thought. I am just curious about your thoughts now that you've been using them for a while.